[Editor’s Note: August has been an eventful month here on the factory floor and we’re grateful to guest contributor and longtime ally Milton Stille for catching this show while we navigated the foul and treacherous Vancouver housing market from various friendly couches. Thank you, Mr. Stille! Production will presently return to its previous familiar output level – SL.]

There’s something to be said for shows like this, that fall together so perfectly and end up just being an all-around good goddamned time. Hats off to the promoters for selecting the most appropriate openers from the local talent pool, I honestly can’t think of a better fit.

Anchoress kicked the night of with a thoroughly energetic set. With guitarist Keenan Federico presently abroad, filling in on the six-string was local shredder Phil Jones, best known for his tenure in the now sadly-defunct Witch of the Waste.

They opted to play a set that was heavy on their older material, despite having recently released their third full-length, Is Ruining My Life. This was a sensible move; despite the fact that I honestly feel the new record – on which they overtly embrace and own their post-hardcore influences – contains their strongest work to date, the older ragers were what was needed to prepare the crowd for the rest of the evening. These dudes are also the absolute nicest band you will ever meet.

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Up next was Neck of the Woods, who have managed to turn a lot of heads since they hit the scene out of the blue a little over 2 years ago. With a new record imminent, this was the perfect moment for these guys to come out of relative hibernation and trade back the studio for the stage. One can’t help but think when watching frontman Jeff Radomsky and the presence he carries when performing, that this guy was born to do this. As a whole, I’ve never seen this band not play tightly, and can’t wait to hear the new record.

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By the time Every Time I Die took to the stage, the venue was packed well beyond expectations – conversing with the owner Mo Tarmohamed a few weeks prior, he’d said he expected the turnout for this show to be approximately 400 or so – with respect to the fact that the Rickshaw opened the balcony, I’m guessing it must have been a fair bit above that. Not bad for a Wednesday in the middle of summer.

Having followed these guys since their debut way back in 2001, it’s almost amusing to admit that this was only my third time catching them live. While Vancouver isn’t always on their tour itinerary – back in 2014 a whole bunch of us drove to Kelowna to catch them in a 200-capacity venue – I’d have thought I’d have seen them more often than that. With that said, this was hands down my favourite performance of theirs I’ve had the good fortune of witnessing, and probably the best they’ve sounded. Then, there’s also just something about seeing one of your favourite bands play your favourite venue. There might be a bit of bias there. With the band now 8 albums deep, with their most recent being one of the strongest, they managed to put together a setlist that was varied enough to keep most in attendance pretty stoked.

It’s really satisfying to see your friends be so stoked to open for their musical heroes, and I can imagine it feels pretty good when said heroes give your band a shout out from the stage. Well done, ETID, This night ruled.